October,2013 - Archbishop Molloy High School

Homeroom 1E
Wins Frosh
Field Day
Stanners will
walk rain or
shine
Page 8
Page 5
The Stanner
Vol. 57, No. 2
Archbishop Molloy High School
October 2013
90 seniors inducted into NHS
By Maria Aliberti '16 and
Mikayla Roberts '16
Led by their four officers, 90
seniors were inducted into the
National Honor Society (NHS)
on Oct. 15 in a ceremony in the
Jack Curran Gym.
Daniel O’Reilly was elected
president, Felicia Mendoza vice
president, Dhanesh Binda secretary and John Paul Pucci
treasurer in a vote by their fellow NHS members.
“I felt so honored that my peers
thought so highly of me and had
such great faith in me,” said
O’Reilly. “I was nominated by
my peers, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve
them.”
After approximately 105 seniors applied for membership
last month, NHS Moderators
Ms. Lauren Kemmerer and Ms.
Kelly Early made the final cuts
based on the four criteria for
membership: leadership, service, scholarship, and character.
“It’s always very hard to tell
students that what they had submitted to us wasn’t good enough
NHS President Dan O’Reilly, Vice President Felicia Mendoza, and Secretary
Dhanesh Binda pose together at ceremony. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)
to make the cut,” said Ms.
Kemmerer.
Shannon Pizzella, a newly inducted NHS member, said, “It
was tough on some of my peers
who didn’t make it; the NHS
meant a lot to them.”
Another NHS member, senior
Jessica Kraker, said some didn’t
make the cut because they did
not have the required three-year
academic average of 94.
“Those that didn’t make it were
frustrated, and I am positive
that even more seniors will feel
this way next year when the required GPA moves up to a 95
instead of a 94,” Kraker said.
The induction ceremony featured a candle lighting ceremony where each elected officer lit a candle.
“Each candle is meant to symbolize a quality that the NHS
members have,” Ms. Kemmerer
said.
O’Reilly lit a purple candle
representing leadership,
Mendoza lit a blue candle representing character, Binda lit a
gold candle representing scholarship and Pucci lit a green
candle symbolizing service.
O’Reilly gave a speech about
those four qualities and how
NHS members will continue to
strive toward success with those
traits in mind.
O’Reilly said he hopes that by
the end of the year NHS members will have a devotion to service that they will take with
them beyond the world of
Molloy.
Continued on page 7
Frosh give Molloy a thumbs up
By Alyssa Motilal ‘17,
Amanda Liu ‘17, Lilibeth
DelasSalas '17, and Michael
Ouari-Navarro ‘17
It’s been nearly two months
since freshmen started their
four-year careers at Molloy and
that’s been enough time for
them to have formed a few opinions of the school.
Most students already feel like
Stanners and have joined a variety of clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities ranging
from volleyball to the Science
Fiction and Fantasy Club.
Conversely, there are still a
few underclassmen who are trying to adjust to their new high
school routine.
Amber Mohsin, who came to
Molloy from Russell Sage JHS
190, said, “I decided to attend
Molloy because after going to
the Open House, I loved this
school. I thought the students,
the teachers, and the classes
were amazing. The Chemistry
and Physics Labs looked cool
and there are so many clubs and
activities to join.”
Laura Annink, from Wolters
School, said, "Lots of people in
my church recommended the
school. They said it was a good
school with a great sports program."
Kristen Lazzinnaro, from PS/
MS 146 in Queens, decided to
come to Molloy because “of what
it had to offer and because most
of my friends would be attend-
Frosh find it very easy to fit in at Molloy (Photo by Shoma Nath ‘16)
ing here.”
activities that the school offers.
Edward Luthartio, from
Andrew Arceo, from St. AnGuardian Angel School, was at- drew Avellino School, said, "I
tracted to Molloy because of the heard that Molloy was a
many clubs and extra-curricular
Continued on page 7
Fooducation: by Alexandra Caruso ‘14
Candy (in ice cream) and pumpkin pie for Halloween
When it comes to restaurants,
have you ever thought of
exploring beyond Alba’s and
Dunkin’ Donuts or not traversing
Austin St. for the 71st time?
My goal, as a food-ucater, is to
try in this column to help other
foodies expand their horizons.
Anywhere in Queens, Manhattan,
or Brooklyn that is worthy of a
visit, I’ll report on it here.
Our first stop, however, is close
by in Forest Hills, just to get you
started.
If homemade ice cream and
whipped cream mushed together
with candy is your idea of heaven,
head over to Eddie’s Sweet Shop!
Get the huge ice cream sundae
that oozes out of its old-school
glass cup, dip in that silver spoon,
and forget about all the calories
coming your way. (Trust me; it’s
better that way).
Eddie’s, at 105-29 Metropolitan
Ave. , is reachable by bus or train.
Give it a try.
My friends and family know
that pie is basic sustenance in my
life. Luckily for you, I managed
to wrestle this pumpkin pie recipe
from my mom’s sacred file.
Happy Halloween!
5/8 cups vegetable shortening,
preferably Crisco, cut into small
pieces
1/4 cup cold milk
For the filling:
All-purpose flour for crust surface
1 15 oz. can solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 12 oz. can evaporated milk
Ground cloves
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
For the pie dough: Mix flour and salt
together in a large bowl. Using a
pastry cutter or 2 table knives, work
shortening into flour mixture until it
resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle cold
milk over dough and mix with your
hands until it holds together. Shape
into a ball, and flatten into a disk. Wrap
in waxed paper and refrigerate for at
least 1 hour.
2. Roll the dough disk out on a lightly
floured surface into a 12" round, then
fit dough into a 9" pie dish and crimp
the edges. Prick dough all over with a
fork and transfer pie shell to the
refrigerator to let chill for 30 minutes.
3. Whisk pumpkin, sugar, cornstarch,
salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,
vanilla, eggs, milk, and a pinch of
cloves in a large bowl.
4. Reduce oven temperature to 325
degrees. Transfer pie dish to a rimmed
baking sheet, and pour pumpkin
mixture into cooled crust. Bake until
center is set but still a bit wobbly, 50
to 55 minutes. (If crust browns too
quickly, tent edges with a strip of foil
folded in half lengthwise.) Let cool in
pie dish on a wire rack. Refrigerate
until well chilled, at least 6 hours.
Serve chilled with whipped cream.
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
No pay would spur compromise
Congressional Republicans shut
down much of the United States
government by refusing to pass
a budget bill unless it involved
making changes to the Affordable
Care Act, otherwise known as
Obamacare.
This resulted in about 800,000
Federal workers being placed on
furlough (unpaid leave) for more
than two weeks.
Some Republicans claimed that
Americans don’t fully understand
that the health care law will cost
more than the government can
handle; therefore, they had no
choice but to shut down the
government to make that point.
Senate Democrats and the
White House claimed Republicans
were holding government
workers hostage in order to block
a law they don’t like; so
Democrats vowed to block any
budget resolution that is tied to
changing the health care law.
However, on Oct. 16, the
Democrat controlled Senate
Letter to the Editor
passed and the Republican
Dear Editors:
controlled House agreed to a bill
Our school administration has that would end the partial
become too concerned with our shutdown and provide the
appearance. [“Bow tie ban enforced this year,” Sept. 2013]. I
recently got detention just for Corrections
Photographer Jordi Sevilla's
having the top button of my shirt
undone while coming out of gym credit was omitted from the photos of the St. Marcellin
class.
I fully support wearing uni- Champagnat Society in the Sepforms because they look nice and tember issue.
Senior Wesley Chu is a threeprofessional but Molloy is too
strict by enforcing its dress code time MVP of the boys varsity tento the max. There should be a nis team.
Junior Raymond Maurer was
warning for a dress code violation
the MVP of the JV baseball team
before there is detention.
Michael LaBella ’17 last year.
government with funding
through the middle of January
2014, when it’s very possible we
will have to go through all of this
again if the two side can’t
negotiate a compromise by then.
Since this battle began, both
political parties have waged war
at the expense of the public
because shutting down the
government closed National
Parks and monuments.
For example, WWII veterans
recently were barred from
viewing an outdoor memorial in
their honor on the Mall in
Washington, D.C., due to the
shutdown.
Economists estimate that the
two-week shutdown cost the U.S.
economy between $12-$24 billion
worth of growth in the fourthquarter of 2013.
Maybe if members of the House
of Representatives also had to
work without pay during the
government shutdown, as many
Federal workers were forced to
do, we would not have had this
crisis in the first place.
Maybe if a law is passed next
month that states Congress won’t
get paid during any future
government shutdowns, we won’t
have another.
— Matthew Spataro ’14
The Stanner
Volume 57, Number 2
Editors:
Production Staff:
Moderator:
Publisher:
Joana Capistrano; Pamela
Decolongon; Daniela Salazar; and
John Fenner
Caroline Bikles; Tristan Colon;
Reynerio Rubio; Phillip Barsamian;
Sophia Savvides; Stephaney Umana
Mr. Charley McKenna
Bro. Thomas Schady
Stanners rate teachers on web
By Frederic Jean-Joseph ‘15
“Rate My Teachers” is a
website where students can post
anonymous comments about
their teachers from preschool to
college.
Students from schools all over
the country have been posting
on “Rate My Teachers” for
years, adding over 15,000,000
ratings since its release.
Not surprisingly, there are
over a hundred ratings of
Molloy faculty on the website.
The website has set guidelines
for posts, such as asking students to be honest and to the
point and to comment only on
professionalism and not state
opinions as facts. Each rating is
reviewed by a site moderator and
is usually posted within two
days of submission.
"The website is very popular,”
said junior David Van Aken. “A
lot of students go on it. I checked
last year to see what people said
about my English teacher. The
ratings in general are biased
and unfair. The comments are
mostly negative and usually the
ratings are about a bad test or
grading."
Junior Kevin Lenczewski, who
hasn't posted a comment himself, has checked once or twice
to see what people said about his
teachers.
“The ratings are pretty accurate but a lot of them are polarizing," he said.
Junior Jan Kumelowski said,
"Most students just make fun of
their teachers. I've posted about
a teacher, just for the laughs."
Molloy science teacher Ms.
Mary Mallia, who has visited
the website, said a teacher can
get some food for thought by
looking at the comments but not
very much.
"I haven't looked in a long time
but I did once,” she said. “It gave
me the thought that maybe my
tests were too difficult. What’s
more valuable to me, however,
is a student coming up to me
and talking to me personally. It
helps me and it helps the student."
When asked if she would hold
a grudge toward a student criticizing her to her face, she replied. "Never. We'd simply work
through it."
Math teacher Ms. Lauren
Kemmerer agreed with Ms.
Mallia, saying that getting feedback from students is a necessary part of the job.
Science teacher Mrs. Anne
Lonergan said she would not
hold it against a student who
complained about her class. "A
lot of the complaints are fueled
by the parents," she said.
Mrs. Lonergan has not visited
the website because she said she
"knows crazy stuff is written"
and she does not want to see it.
Most teachers said they would
prefer face to face criticism
rather than reading some
anonymous review online.
Ms. Kemmerer said, "If the
comments given are ‘This
teacher was great" or “This
teacher wasn't great,’ then I
don't think there is any value
because you don't know the reasoning behind it. More importantly, opinions vary greatly.
All students have different
learning styles and therefore
appreciate different teachers in
different ways."
Only Class of ‘18 will get iPads
By DaeQuan Morrison '16
Molloy will distribute iPads to
the incoming frosh next year to
replace certain textbooks and to
keep Stanners one step ahead in
technology as they prepare to
someday enter the work force,
said the Assistant Principal Mr.
Ed Cameron.
Next year’s frosh will have to
pay a technology fee to cover the
cost and maintenance of about
400 iPads.
If a student accidentally damages an iPad, a $25 first time
breakage fee will be charged to
fix it. Every two years, students
will get new iPads and upon
graduation the iPad will be
theirs to keep.
While in school, frosh will only
be able to access material that
the Molloy administration allows; however, at home on students’ own wifi networks, the
iPads can be used normally.
Many at Molloy are apprehensive about how next year's frosh
will handle the new devices.
“They’ll be freshmen," said
frosh Carolina Jamie. "Everything is new to them in the
school. Add an iPad and it’s a
wreck.”
In case a student loses his or
her iPad, the built-in GPS will
help to retrieve it.
If a lost iPad is found by another student, Molloy trusts students will turn it in but if they
don’t they’ll face severe consequences, Mr.Cameron said.
“We’ve actually heard from
high schools that already have
iPads, such as St. Mary's and
Xaverian, that students are
much more careful with iPads
While some students are eager
to see this happen at Molloy, others are not.
“Technology and schoolwork
don’t really mix for me," said
sophomore Jada Fletcher. "I’d
just rather we stuck to textbooks.”
Mr. Cameron said, “Students
have to be comfortable working
with technology and being
ready to use new things.”
Who gets a free MetroCard is
a matter of distance from AM
Ms. Kelly Early uses her new school
iPad. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)
than any other book," Mr.
Cameron said. "I’m not overly
concerned. I think the responsibility will be there.”
Many students feel it is unfair
to give iPads only to next year’s
frosh.
“If Molloy gives something to
one class, they should give it to
every class,” said junior Alina
Obruchnikova.
Mr. Cameron said Molloy
made the decision to take things
slowly by not handing out 1,600
devices but instead using next
year as the "guinea pig" year.
Teachers have begun using
iPads this year to take attendance and post grades.
Mr. Cameron said students
will benefit from this new technology as teachers will have the
ability to modify their lessons to
take advantage of the iPads.
By Sylvie Williams '16
Commuting to and from
school is part of life and even if
a Stanner lives just one subway
stop away from school, having a
free, green MetroCard can be a
life saver when it rains or snows.
Almost every Stanner on the
first day of school gets a student
MetroCard, which can be used
three times a day between 5
a.m. and 8 p.m. This saves students $5 to $7.50 per day.
The few Stanners who don't
get free MetroCards often wonder why they don't.
Mrs. Colleen Rooney, who
deals with MetroCard eligibility, inputs "all the students' addresses into the Office of Transportation website, and it notifies
us who is eligible for a card.
"According to the Dept. of Education, if you live farther than
1.5 miles away from the school,
you're entitled to a MetroCard.
If you live closer than 1.5 miles,
then you're only entitled to a
half-fare card," she said.
Students who aren't eligible
for a full fare MetroCard can get
a half-fare card which reduces
their cost to $1.25 per trip.
Ms. Rooney said 91 students
received half-fare cards, more
than any previous year.
"I tried to accommodate everyone," Mrs. Rooney said. "The
Dept. of Education sends us extra free cards and if I determine
that it is unreasonable for a student to not get a full-fare card, I
provide them with one.
"I have gotten parents and
students in touch with Dept. of
Education, but, as far as I know,
they have never granted an appeal by anyone," she said.
Sophomore Garima Vohra,
who doesn't have a MetroCard,
said, "I live three blocks from the
school and in freshman year, I
was the only one [in my
homeroom] who didn't receive a
MetroCard. My walk is only five
minutes and it doesn't bother
me that I don't have a card. My
friend Ana lives farther than me
and also didn't receive a card."
Garima doesn't need a free
Metrocard.
"I wouldn't want the Dept. of
Education to waste money paying for a card I didn't need," she
said. "Even if I had a card, I
would still walk to school. I
would only use it in an emergency."
SAC, SC out, Spirit Leaders in
By Miranda Steinberg ‘14
and Viviana Villalva ‘14
The Student Activities Committee and Student Council
have been consolidated into a
new group called the Spirit Committee this year in the hope of
getting more Stanners involved
in the planning and carrying
out of student activities.
Two students from each
homeroom have been chosen as
Spirit Leaders, whose job will be
to enhance school spirit and get
their homerooms more involved
in school activities.
Senior Madelein Glaeser is a new
Spirit Leader. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla)
“My goal is to create a cohesive, unified group of leaders
who will develop their leadership, organizational and communication skills, while at the
same time helping their teachers and peers,” said Director of
Student Activites Ms. Liz
Murdocca.
Ms. Murdocca said that when
SAC and Student Council were
separate entities, there were redundancies and confusion regarding what their jobs were.
“After speaking to some Student Council members, I was
not convinced that there was a
necessity for that club in the
school,” said Ms. Murdocca. “According to these members, there
was a small minority of students
who attended the meetings.
When I asked what Student
Council had actually accomplished in the past year, the students were hard-pressed to answer.”
Now Spirit Leaders will take
over and do things such as distribute handouts in homeroom,
sell event tickets, and lead Spirit
Week events.
Former SAC members, seniors
Diamond Small and Darien
Dey, who were both selected as
Spirit Leaders, feel that the creation of the Spirit Committee
was a very good idea.
"I think merging SAC and SC
will be very beneficial since
there's now only one club that
handles student activities,” said
Small. “It makes more sense to
have one larger club."
Dey said, "The other two
groups weren't really known.
Those groups weren’t abolished;
they were combined. They are
just together now."
Both girls are excited about
their new positions as Spirit
Leaders.
"Ms.Murdocca is getting
things done, geting us involved,
and saying 'Look this is what we
have to do,' " Dey said.
Small, who found out about the
administration's decision to end
SAC during her Lit and Pysch
class with Ms. Murdocca, was
"extremely happy" to be chosen
as a Spirit Leader.
"I like to be active in events at
Molloy," Small said.
Senior Lauren Nazarieh became a Spirit Leader because “I
like working with other students
and enjoy being involved with
school activities.”
However, Dey felt that the process of choosing Spirit Leaders
could have been different.
"I don't understand why it was
so selective," she said.
Spirit Leaders will serve as the
connection between Ms.
Murdocca and the student body.
So far, Spirit Leaders have
helped to organize the
Walkathon t-shirts for distribution at the Oct. 25 event and created the Halloween Dance/
Walkathon bulletin board outside the General Office.
Spirit Leaders will take on the
job of organizing the Junior and
Senior Proms, previously done
by SAC, and Dey hopes to plan
an "exquisite prom."
Ms. Murdocca is happy with
the performance of the Spirit
Leaders so far.
“I am overwhelmed, in a good
way, at the response I’ve gotten,” she said. “I think there are
so many students who want to
be a part of something like this
where they can take charge and
have ownership of their school.”
Band members impress at state auditions
By Shibangi Saha '16
Thirteen members of Molloy’s
Band impressed the judge at the
New York State School Music
Association's New York City
zone auditions on June 2 at The
Mary Louis Academy.
It was the first time Molloy had
participated in this state-wide
event, which attracts over
100,000 high school musicians.
The band members, who performed on the fourth of the
organization’s six levels of ability, received a rating of “outstanding,” the highest rank, after achieving a 26/28 score.
Band Director Ms. Ya-Ting
Yang congratulated her students for doing a “superb job.”
She said a NYSSMA judge
emailed her to comment on her
students’ amazing performance,
which usually does not happen.
The 13 Molloy musicians were
selected to participate based on
their performance in the band
in their previous years.
“Auditioning at the event was
an amazing experience!” said
sophomore clarinetist Laksumi
Sivanandan. “While I was extremely worried, I was able to
overcome my nerves. I feel we
performed quite well. All of the
time we spent together rehears-
ing really paid off.”
Sophomore alto saxophonist
Harry Singh said, “While walking into the doors, I was definitely nervous. It was very awkward to sit in front of the musical judge and get a score, but the
evaluator was jovial and gave us
a few cool techniques.”
Ms. Yang gave special congratulations to senior Brandon
Lau of the String Ensemble,
whose violin solo scored a 94/100
on the sixth and highest level of
Senior Brandon Lau
performance.
“The purpose of the program,” to show them their strengths
said Ms. Yang, “was to give the and areas of potential improvestudents a goal to work towards ments.”
Ms. Yang looks forward to participating in the festival again
this spring and get more students involved by inviting students who play instruments or
sing independently of Molloy’s
Band or String Ensemble.
“The students will be able to
take an opportunity to grow in
their musical endeavors,” said
Ms. Yang.
The band members who participated were:
Among the Molloy Band members who performed at the NYSSMA Festival were sophomore Harry Singh, third
from left in second row, and senior Matthew Maneri, fourth from left in top row. (Photos by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)
Sophomores John Ambert, timpani;
Justin Cole, baritone sax; Harry Singh,
alto sax; Laksumi Sivanandan, clarinet; Juniors Ansh Mehra, clarinet;
Jessica Netto, tenor sax; Stephanie
Nonaillada, flute; Connie Zhao, flute;
Seniors Gabriel Caamal, bass clarinet;
Candice Forrester, flute; Anthony
Genna, alto sax; Matthew Maneri, electric bass; and Natalie Picon, clarinet.
Stanners will walk rain or shine
By Harry Singh '16
Molloy's 21st annual Walk-athon will step off on Oct. 25 rain
or shine after last's year event
was twice postponed due to bad
weather.
Assistant Principal Mr. Ken
Auer said Molloy bought 2,000
ponchos last year after the second postponement due to Hurricane Sandy and will use them
if necessary.
“We hope for a nice day,” said
Mr. Auer.
The Walk-a-thon will follow
the same route as last year but
Stanners walk it twice.
“I liked last year's route a lot
since it was pretty short," said
sophomore Lauren Boldeau.
"But you have to walk up some
hills, which can be pretty tiring.”
Senior Amelia Singh said, “I
prefer last year’s new route since
I love changing things up from
year to year.”
Junior Katlin Stath said, “My
favorite memory of last year’s
Walk-a-thon was getting lost. I
was part of the group of people
that cut through in the middle
of the route and didn’t get to
complete the whole course.”
Mr. Auer hopes that the problems with the new route last year
won't carry over to this year.
Stanners will walk in a blue tshirt with a sneaker-type logo
featuring prizes such as an iPod,
tickets to a Broadway show or
sporting events, $50 in movie
passes, gift cards, and Land’s
End accessories.
The student who raises the
most money will receive free tuition for the year and the second
place student will receive a free
iPad. The top homeroom will receive its own casual day.
Students have very fond
memories of past Walk-a-thons.
Stath said last year's double
rain delay “was very weird, but
I’m sure Molloy will have better
luck with the weather this year!”
Singh said she loves the Walka-thon because she gets to spend
time with her friends, "however,
one thing I really dislike is the
cold weather! The Walk-a-thon
would be a lot more enjoyable if
the weather was warmer.”
In the past, Singh simply
asked her parents for the minimum $80 required of every student. “But this year, I’m going
to be a true Stanner and actually raise the money myself,” she
said.
Boldeau raises money differently each year.
“If I wait until the last minute,
I usually just ask my parents for
the $80 but if I can get a head
Stanners enjoy nice weather on their third try at Walkathon 2012 after start on things, I raise the money
being rained out twice. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)
myself,” she said.
printed on the front designed by
senior Albert Hasan.
Improvements the Walk-athon will pay for include new
energy saving lights and a dehumidifier in the Cafeteria and
air conditioning in the Chapel.
Each Stanner who raises $80
or more will enjoy a Walk-athon holiday on Friday March
14 but all who fail to do so will
report for a full day of school
that day supervised by Mr. Auer
and Mr. Ed Shannon.
“We try to do educational
things [that day]," said Mr.
Auer. "In the past years we have
watched the movie ‘Gandhi,’ but
we are undecided on what we’ll
do this year.”
Students who raise $100 or
more will participate in a raffle
18 EM’s installed at mass
By Charlie Maisano '16 and
Perry Chresomales '16
Eighteen seniors were installed as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion in a
simple ceremony during the Senior Liturgy in the Jack Curran
Gymnasium on Sept. 26, said
Campus Ministry Director Mr.
Mike Germano.
Sarah Stiglianese, who had
been a lector at liturgies since
her sophomore year, wanted to
take the next step in her involvement by becoming an Eucharistic Minister.
“I hope to serve my school and
community in a new way and
allow this to bring me closer to
God,” she said.
Mr. Germano said becoming
an Eucharistic Minister is a
simple process that begins in
January when juniors may begin to apply and requires only
that they attend a workshop.
Stiglianese said she and the
other 17 EM’s “attended a group
class along with [students from]
St. Francis Prep. We separated
into groups and discussed what
we would have to do at mass.”
Mr. Germano said the other
requirement is that applicants
show a devotion to their faith.
Stiglianese, for example, has
been very involved at her parish, St. Helen’s, by being a lector, an altar server, and an EM.
She also has joined the St.
Vincent DePaul Society and
the Rosarian Society.
In addition to distributing
communion at Molloy liturgies,
the Eucharistic Ministers work
at local parishes, hospitals and
nursing homes.
While this year’s group of 18
is smaller than in recent years,
Mr. Germano called it “the most
loyal and most faith-filled group
in a while; their lives are a model
of Christ.”
Here are the Eurcharistic Ministers from the Class of 2014:
Julia Antignani; Francesca Bello; Matthew Dolan; Daniela Fazio; Katherine
Garcia; Samantha Grech; Emily
Hernandez-Avila; John Mancini; Christopher McGee; Felicia Mendoza; Andrew
Muscarella; Daniel O’Reilly; Cassandra
Rodriguez; Samantha Sattler; Sarah
Stiglianese; Patrycja Sulich; Ashley
Vascellaro; Melissa Yurisak.
Molloy’s 18 new Eucharistic Ministers are inducted at the Senior Liturgy. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)
Seniors stress over college picks
By Emily Hernandez-Avila
The college application process creates a type of work load
that most Molloy seniors have
never really experienced before.
After filling out the Common
Application, writing essays, lining up recommendations, and
taking the SAT's, most seniors
agree: the college application
process is stressful.
Ambitious seniors also deal
with the anxiety of not knowing
whether or not their dream
school will want them.
“It’s stressful because the work
of getting into college is so much
more than the work that we had
to do to get into high school,"
said senior Steven Cepeda. "We
really have to push ourselves to
get what we want.”
Seniors are starting to realize
that they will not return to
Molloy next September but instead have to find a new place
to call home for the next four
years.
“It’s all around us all day, every day," said senior Theresa
Mancusi. "It’s hard to escape the
reality of college.”
Senior Erica Byrne, captain of
the girls’ varsity volleyball team,
started filling out the Common
App last week but she hasn’t
gotten very far due to her practice schedule and the extra work
she has done to improve her
SAT scores.
The college essay is preventing a lot of seniors from completing their Common App quickly.
The challenge of explaining
yourself in 650 words in a way
that separates you from the
thousands of other kids who
want a spot in that university is
intimidating.
One of the major reasons
many seniors are so stressed out
is that they are applying to too
many schools.
Molloy's College Guidance
Counselors advise seniors to
apply to no more than seven
schools yet some will far exceed
that number.
“I have 10-11 that I can’t seem
to take off my list,” Mancusi
said. “The College Fair made me
so much more stressed out and
confused on where I wanted to
go that I probably added more
to my list that night.”
Some seniors say that they
will apply to at least 10 schools
so they can have the more options.
Then there is the parental factor. “Some schools I’m applying
to only because they are close to
home and my parents want me
Stressed out seniors line up outside the College Guidance Office hoping to to [apply to them],” Byrne said.
lessen the uncertainties inherent in the process of applying to colleges.
College Guidance Counselor
(Photo by Joana Capistrano ‘14)
Mrs. Christine Loo astonished
some seniors when she said the
application process was harder
back when she was in high
school.
“When I applied to college, we
had to apply to every single college separately," she said. "My
parents were immigrants and
didn't know about colleges in the
U.S. or about the application
process, so my siblings and I did
a lot on our own.”
Mrs. Loo said the college application process is most stressful for a senior who is “un-organized and has difficulty meeting
deadlines.
“A perfect example of this is we
still have students who are applying Early Action or Early
Decision who have not matched
on Naviance yet," she said. "We
have sent out emails and reminders. We have asked them
to come and see us. But they still
leave everything until the last
minute.”
Mrs. Loo's advice for making
the process as stress-free as possible is to stay organized and
meet deadlines.
She said seniors should feel
free to visit either her or Mr. Ted
McGuinness if they feel confused.
Meanwhile, Cepeda said, “I’m
looking forward to it being over
and the stress being lifted off my
shoulders. I will be able to really
start enjoying senior year, know
where I’m going, and have my
scholarships.”
Starting new AM club’s not easy
By Robert Dittus ‘15
Molloy prides itself on having
a wide variety of clubs and activities for its students.
However, some students feel
that their interests or skills
aren’t represented by Molloy’s
more than 50 clubs.
So far this year, Director of
Student Activities Ms. Liz
Murdocca has received proposals for a Harry Potter Club,
Yoga Club, Break Dance Club,
Ultimate Frisbee Club, and an
American Sign Language Club,
among others.
When evaluating each request, Ms. Murdocca said she
asks herself, “Does the club offer something new or different,
or is it something similar to what
we already have? For example,
we already have a Dance Club,
a Dance Team, and a Step
Team. Do we need a separate
break dancing club?”
Ms. Murdocca spoke with the
senior who proposed that idea
and “arranged for her to join
Dance Club and share her expertise with us by teaching several breakdancing classes.”
For the highly specific Harry
Potter Club, Ms. Murdocca suggested those students join the
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Club and
talk to the moderators and student leaders about having a
meeting to discuss Harry Potter.
“Students have to be realistic
in what they want in a club and
why they want it,” Ms. Murdocca
said. “Many of our clubs offer
skills such as knitting, baking,
dance or step. We have fine arts
clubs such as the Art Club,
Band, and Theater Arts and
Improv Club that teach the arts
to interested students.”
To create a new club, a student
must submit a proposal to Ms.
Murdocca that includes its
name, function, educational
value, the name of a qualified
teacher who has agreed to be the
moderator, and the names of at
least 10 other interested students.
“One of the reasons that the
Yoga Club wasn’t approved was
because there were no teachers
available who could teach yoga
and we can’t hire a new faculty
member just to come in and
moderate the club,” Ms.
Murdocca said.
Junior John Stewart, who is
one of the students trying to
start the Ultimate Frisbee Club,
said the club would “teach the
Molloy community the sport and
provide competitions for students throughout the year. It’s
a very fun sport that deserves a
larger audience. We were able
to collect over 110 signatures
from students across all years.”
However, Ms. Murdocca explained that finding the time
and a space large enough for
Stewart’s club to play the game
would be very difficult due to the
fact that Molloy’s sports teams
use the baseball field, track, and
the two gyms every day after
school.
Junior Maria Kasper believes
that Germany isn’t represented
among Molloy’s cultural clubs
and would like to see that
changed.
“I really love German culture:
the food, language, music, dancing, and holiday traditions,” she
said. “Obviously, I’m not the
only one. Just look at the popularity of the Steuben Day Parade. I would say Germany is
not represented.”
Ms. Murdocca said students
who are considering starting a
club at Molloy should ask themselves if the club they want to
create is really worthy of being
a club, or if it’s something they
can easily just do at home or with
friends in the park.
Sattler semifinalist
Senior Samantha Sattler was
the only member of the Class of
2014 to be named a semifinalist
in the National Merit Scholarship Test based on her score on
the 2012 PSAT.
Get costumes ready for dance
By Sargam Mehra '16
Get your costumes ready!
Molloy's annual Halloween
Dance, which is open only to
frosh and sophomores this year,
will be held Wednesday Oct. 30
in the Cafeteria from 7 p.m. to
10:30 p.m.
Adding to the fun is the fact
that there will be no classes held
for students the following day
due to a faculty meeting.
Sophomores Chris Autera and Niamh Girdusky show off their costumes at
last year’s Halloween Dance in the Cafeteria. The dance and costume
contest returns on Oct. 30. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla, ‘14)
Tickets are $5 and will be sold
during homeroom periods by the
school's new Spirit Leaders. No
tickets will be sold at the door.
“Costumes are not mandatory,
but I’m hoping they will get in
the spirit and wear costumes,”
said Student Activities Director
Ms. Liz Murdocca, who will be
there in costume herself.
A costume contest judged by
the Spirit Leaders at the dance
will choose the funniest, the
scariest and the most original
costume worn by a frosh and a
sophomore.
The fact that the dance will be
limited to frosh and sophomores
will prevent junior Jared
Lovelace, the Best Costume winner at the last two contests, from
defending his title.
This dance is the first sponsored by the school's new Spirit
Committee but Ms.Murdocca is
confident it will do a good job.
"Many of them have already
shown their determination and
work-ethic in helping me with
the Walk-a-thon and Open
House,” she said.
For the past several years, the
Halloween Dance has been the
only school dance of the year but
Ms. Murdocca said the Spirit
Committee might sponsor another dance during Spirit Week.
Sophomores who attended last
year's dance are looking forward
to returning this year.
"I loved last year’s dance; I
loved dancing will all my friends
and meeting new people,” sophomore Mirtelle Mendoza said. “I
wore devil horns as my costume.
Other students were so creative
with their costumes - I loved it!”
Mendoza plans dress in matching costumes with her best
friend at this year's dance.
Elizabeth Mantilla, who
dressed up as Louis Tomlinson
last year, said what she liked
most about the dance was the DJ
music and the costumes.
Ralphy Scarpitti, who did not
come in costume, liked the music, dancing, and hanging out
with his friends.
"I thought the other costumes
were creative and some of them
were funny as well,” he said.
Frosh lovin’ it despite AM’s crowded halls
Continued from page 1
prestigious Catholic school with
a strong educational program.”
Raya Moshiri-Yazdi, from
Our Lady of Hope School, is carrying on the family legacy by attending Molloy but she did not
expect to enjoy it so much. Her
first months at Molloy have
been “very exciting” and “like a
dream come true.”
Molloy’s teachers and upper
class students have made a good
impression on the Class of 2017.
“Molloy reminds me of my elementary school,” said Annink.
“It seems to have the same closeknit, family oriented atmosphere."
Mohsin said, “I really like my
teachers. They aren’t too nice or
too strict. They really help us
succeed.”
Arceo said, “The teachers are
great. They aren't confusing and
get the message of the lesson
through very well."
Luthartio was surprised that
the teachers “are so friendly and
willing to help” and that the
other frosh are “ accepting of
each other” which allowed him
to make friends with ease.
Kalis Espinal, of MS 172 Irwin
Altman Middle School, said
"The upperclassmen are nice.
Some of them are even friends
with me now. There's no frosh
hazing at all."
Lauren O’Donohue said, "I
think my teachers are nice and
challenging."
Moshiri-Yazdi said, “The
teachers are nice and committed
and the majority of the upperclassmen are very helpful.”
Zach Parial said, "I like the
great environment."
The frosh like Molloy’s extracurricular activities, sports and
the Freshman Retreat.
“What I like most is the track
team,” said Mohsin. “When I
joined, not only did I make so
many friends, I learned that I
was able to do so many things
that, at first, I thought I couldn’t
do. It made me stronger both
physically and mentally.”
But Molloy is not without its
surprises.
“The things that surprised me
the most were how many classes
we had per day and the six-day
cycle,” said Donna Kim, from St.
Kevin’s School. “I’m getting used
to it now.”
Arceo said Molloy, “was a lot
smaller than expected, and it
was a lot easier to fit in than I
thought it would be.”
However, all not is perfect.
Mohsin doesn’t like the remote location of her locker.
Lazzinnaro was surprised at
“how difficult it is to get around.
You have to push your way
through everyone and then you
can end up on the completely
wrong side of the building.”
Frosh also complained about
the school uniforms, 30-minute
lunch periods, having only four
minutes between classes, and
the layout of the school.
And not all frosh feel truly
settled in. "I'm still trying to adjust, " Espinal said.
Asked if he felt like a Stanner,
Luthartio replied, “No, not yet.
I am still trying to adjust, but
I’m sure I’ll get there soon.”
90 Stanners in NHS
Continued from page 1
“Keep your eyes open because
there are plenty of opportunities
to make a difference.” he said.
“You don’t have to be an NHS
member to help others.”
Kraker said becoming a NHS
member allows “students all
over the country to be a part of
something bigger than themselves and their school. All NHS
members are required to do our
fair share of service work.”
Pizzella said of working with
NHS this year, “It will be great
to see the positive impact that
our activities will have on other
people.”
The NHS will do volunteer
work at Molloy throughout the
school year, starting with Open
House on Oct. 20.
Here is the List of 2013-2014
NHS Members:
Chan Hee Anh; Julia Antignani; Irina
Arias; Theresa Arcidiacono; Francesca
Bello; Dhanesh Binda; Thomas
Brinskelle; Amelia Byrne; Gabriel
Caamal; Joshua Cajas; Matthew
Cazilas; Steven Cepeda; Francisco Cid;
Shemaia Cumberbatch; Christopher
Davis Jr.; Darien Dey; Tiffany Dial;
Matthew Dolan; Monica Duchnowski;
Anthony Famighetti; Daniela Fazio;
Emily Gabrielsen; Katherine Garcia;
Sebastian Geraci; Samantha Grech;
Georgios Gulino; Emily Hanna; Camilla
Herbin; Emily Hernandez-Avila; Robert Jankowski; Virgilio Jimenez;
Edrean-Neil Kabigting; Almeet Kaur;
Pardeep Kaur; Maryanna Kelly;
Katherine
Kilkenny;
Nicole
Korzeniecki; Jessica Kraker; JohnLuigi Lagula; Michael Lamarca; Emily
Lewis; Mariyanthie Linaris; John
Mancini; Albert Marin; Deanna Mayo;
Christopher McGee; Felicia Mendoza;
Louiza Molohides; Kristian Mosquito;
Taylor Moss; Cyrus Mowdawalla; Andrew Muscarella; Emily Noblesala;
Chinyere Okogeri; Daniel O’Reilly;
Cristina Otano; Amanda Pape; Lucy
Peng; Shannon Pizzella; Anna
Poulakas; Elizabeth Prado; John Paul
Pucci; Emily Rabot; Jonelle Reyes;
Juliana Rima; Bernadette Rooney;
Michael Rossi; Reynerio Rubio; Sean
Ryan; Daniela Salazar; Andy Salim;
Austin Samaroo; RoseAnn Sapia;
Samantha Sattler; Abigail Singson;
Matthew Spataro; Sarah Stiglianese;
Patrycja Sulich; Evangeline Szpylka;
Stephanie Tang; Allison Terranova;
Jobin Thottam; Aerin Toskas; Carluto
Toussaint; Danielle Vendome; Viviana
Villalva; Katarina Vucetic; Rebecca
Wagner; Branden Warders; Sarah
Yunus.
1E wins at Freshman Field Day
By Caroline Jaipaul '17 and
Jessica Khargi '17
Led by five first place finishers, Homeroom 1E was the team
champion at Molloy’s annual
Freshman Field Day on Sept.
27, giving its homeroom teacher,
Ms. Shannon Winters, her first
field day victory.
Kyle Hoffman won the boys
soccer shootout, Brandon Jacobs
won the boys basketball knockout, Elvir Hot won the football
throw, Daniel Hoff won the boys
long jump, and Taylor IlishaevKurs won the girls 300 meters
to lead 1E to a nine point victory over runner-up 1B.
“I always tell my homeroom
on the first day of school that
we’re going to win Freshman
Field Day but you can’t really
be sure!” said Ms. Winters,
whose homeroom finished second last year. “I think my
homeroom knew what their
strengths were and we used that
to our advantage.”
Ms. Winters, who said she was
“hopeful” that 1E would win,
said, “I just wanted everyone to
try hard and have fun.”
Ms. Winters remarked that “it
was funny” that 1E won because,
despite the inexhaustible efforts
of Ms. Amanda Cardone to fire
up the students, 1E was the quietest homeroom in the Jack
Curran Gym.
Carolina Jaime of 1E said she
thought her homeroom won because, “Everyone tried their best
and that was all that mattered.
Because we tried our best and
gave it all we had, I think we
had a good shot at winning.”
1E’s victory was announced at
the frosh Walk-a-thon assembly
on Oct. 1.
“We were all very excited and
happy, because we really didn’t
think we were going to have a
lot of points,” Jaime said.
Margarita Kilpatrick, of 1F,
who won the girls basketball
knockout, said she had fun at
Field Day. Her favorite event to
watch was the boys high jump
John Herring of 1E leads the pack around the turn in the boys 200-meter
run during Freshman Field Day on Sept. 25. Herring finished second in his
race but 1E took the team title. (Photo by Shoma Nath ‘16)
because “it was funny.”
Francesca LaPinta, also of 1F,
competed in two events, winning
the girls 800 meters and finishing third in the girls soccer
shootout.
She said she had a lot of fun
because “you got to compete
against and get to know kids in
the same grade.”
Her favorite event to watch
was “the basketball knockout because it was fast paced and kept
you on the edge of your seat.”
Marisol Martin, of 1G, said she
most enjoyed watching the high
jump, an event that had almost
all the frosh in the gym on their
feet when 1F’s Christian
Lanzetta tried to jump higher
than five feet.
Sebastian Baksh, of 1A, said
his only complaint was having
to run between two events so he
wouldn't miss one.
Here are the results from the
2013 Freshman Field Day:
Team scores: 1. 1E, 49 points; 2.
1B, 40; 3. (tie) 1J and 1C, 37; 5. 1L, 36;
6. (tie) 1A and 1F, 35; 8. 1K, 34; 9. 1H,
30; 10. 1G,25; 11. 1D, 20.
Chess: 1. Kevin Marry, 1G; 2. Matthew Sirju, 1K; 3. Jesse Liu, 1F; 4. Tyler
Mendoza, 1G; 5. Mike Avaricio, 1A.
History: 1. Anne-Marie Romain,
Enzo Persic, Jonathan Roemer, 1J; 2.
Paul Arango, Kristen Allen, Kimberley
Alvarez, 1A; 3. Christopher Triana,
Joshua Suknanan, Michael Spedalle,
1K; 4. Jenelle DeCosta, Aaron Day,
Michael Civita, 1C; 5. Amber Mohsin,
Rohit Minhas, Alyssa Motilal, 1G.
Spoon Relay: 1. Taylor Fernandez,
Clarissa Gosine, 1D; 2. Kalis Espinal,
Camille Estefani, 1D; 3. Vivian Chen,
Nicole Chresomales, 1C; 4. Sarika
Dasraj, Kealsey Duran, 1C; 5. Diana
Mieles, Kiah Moe, 1G.
Potato sack relay: 1. Katherine Van
Riper, Amanda Verderber, 1L; 2. Thomas Schmuck, Daniel Smith, 1K; 3.
Jacqueline Orgera, Gabriell Peperone,
, 1H; 4. Mary Brady, Ava Brandt, 1B;
5. Juliana Fazio, Sarah Gallagher, 1D.
Boys soccer shootout: 1. Kyle
Hoffman, 1E; 2. Alfred Amadio, 1A; 3.
Jacob Musovic, 1H; 4. Tim Deliyannis,
1C; 5. Nick Koowan, 1F.
Girls soccer shootout: 1. Kelly
Santiago, 1K; 2. Sinead Brady, 1B; 3.
Francesa Lapinta, 1F; 4. Patricia Ryan
1J; 5. Ashley Villanueva, 1L.
Boys basketball knockout: 1.
Brandon Jacobs, 1E; 2. Matthew
Asenjo, 1A; 3. Daniel Modzelewski, 1G;
4. Zachary MacDonnell, 1F; 5. Marcus
Retegues, 1J.
Girls basketball knockout: 1.
Margarita Kilpatrick, 1F; 2. Gabriella
DeVito, 1C; 3. Nora Zdonowski, 1L; 4.
Nicole Russo, 1J; 5. Regina Kasper, 1E.
Football throw: 1. Elvir Hot, 1E;
2. Jack O'Connor, 1H; 3. Justin
Crawford, 1C; 4. Robert Ayroso, 1A; 5.
Robert Matos, 1G.
Softball throw: 1. Cierra Word, 1L;
2. Stephanie Lechki, 1F; 3. Gianna
Petraglio, 1J; 4. Victoria Bruno, 1B; 5.
Elena Rossi, 1J.
Boys shot: 1. Andrew Meshaj, 1G;
2. Anthony Cutrone, 1C; 3. Daniel
Aquino, 1A; 4. Colin Williams, 1L;
Daniel Vascones, 1L.
Girls shot: 1. Shauna D'Arcy, 1C;
2. Jessica Hickey, 1E; 3. Bailey Weiss,
1L; 4. Atiyya Ally, 1A; 5. Samantha
Persaud, 1J.
Boys high jump: 1. Christian
Lanzetta, 1F; 2. Matthew Murawski,
1H; 3. Marcos Alvarez, 1A; 4. Daniel
Hoff, 1E; 5. Brendan Barberides, 1A.
Boys long jump: 1. Daniel Hoff, 1E;
2. Nicholas Saladino, 1J; 3. Jack
Turner, 1K; 4. Brendan Barberides, 1A;
5. Justin McWilliams, 1G.
Girls long jump: 1. Victoria Nizzo,
1H; 2. Karla Matibag, 1G; 3. Maria
DePalma, 1C; 4. Anna Wilson, 1L; 5.
Carolina Jaime, 1E.
Boys 100: 1. Steven Bongiovanni,
1B; 2. Steven Palacios, 1H; 3. Gabriel
Tineo, 1K; 4. Liam Coen, 1C; 5.
Alexander Eastwood, 1D.
Girls 100: 1. Jenna Piller, 1J; 2.
Patricia Cerri-Droz, 1B; 3. Rebecca
Rubinos, 1J; 4. Soleil Forero, 1D; 5.
Rose Cerniglia, 1B.
Boys 200: Joseph Cardinale, 1B; 2.
John Herring, 1E; 3. Marcus Retegues,
1J; 4. Marcin Swierbutowski, 1K; 5.
Vincent Ciulla, 1C.
Girls 200: 1. Anjalie Baijoo, 1A; 2.
Melanie Coleman, 1C; 3. Carmen
Kujawska, 1F; 4. Jenna Ventura, 1L;
5. Gabrielle Santos, 1K.
Boys 300: 1.Arthur Ceniza, 1B; 2.
Andre Echeandia, 1D; 3. Ruben
Jimenez, 1E; 4. Emmett Galligan, 1D;
5. Kevin Kelly, 1F.
Girls 330: 1. Taylor Ilishaev-Kurs,
1E; 2. Cassandra Renart, 1J; 3. Ashling
Whelan, 1L; 4. Katelyn O'Hara, 1H; 5.
Elaina Nicolich, 1H.
Boys 800: 1. Thomas Bartnikowski,
1B; 2. Kyle Hoffman, 1E; 3. Mark
Novello, 1H; 4. Angelo Tsoulos, 1K.
Girls 800: 1. Francesca Lapinta, 1F;
2. Amanda Verderber, 1L.
Frosh: making JV squad is hard
By Michael LaBella ‘17
The fact that Molloy doesn’t
field a frosh team makes it a
challenge for any incoming
baseball player to make the Junior Varsity team because he has
to compete with both sophomores and his fellow ninth graders for a place on the roster.
Over half the players who
tried out were cut at the end of
the JV team’s fall tryouts.
“It was disappointing.” said
frosh Tristan Espada, who got
cut. “But there’s a full year to
improve and work on my game
before next year’s tryouts.”
Coach Mr. Chris DeSarno said
that each year, “usually, I try to
take 12 -15 freshmen.”
Robert Berrios was one of the
frosh who made the team on his
first attempt.
“Compared to all the travel
teams I’ve played on, this was
the hardest team to try out for,”
he said.
Mr. DeSarno said the fall base-
ball season, which lasts six
weeks and consists of seven to
eight scrimmages, is used to see
how the players perform under
pressure in game situations.
“Molloy baseball players are
very committed and sacrifice a
lot of time to play here,” said Mr.
DeSarno.
The JV team was 3-1 in their
first four fall scrimmages with
victories coming over McClancy,
Xavieran and Salesian.
The spring season begins in
March and continues through
late May and, as usual, Molloy
is looking to have another championship season.
“The goal every year is to develop our players so they are
ready to play varsity and to compete for a city championship,”
Mr. DeSarno said. “Winning a
city championship is difficult
due to the many successful programs throughout the city. We
have had some success recently,
winning in 2009 and 2012.”